ODOT: Salt supplies are good to go

posted by WTVN Newsroom
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2 years ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVN) -- The Ohio Dept of Transportation says they're ready for this next winter storm. Salt supplies have been replenished at salt barns across the state.

"We believe we're going to be okay knowing that a lot of our shipments have come in," said ODOT spokesman Steve Faulkner.

ODOT is set to use a million tons of salt this winter. That would be a new record.

"We believe that once we get to that point it's a milestone that I think nobody here can remember having ever reached in Ohio's history," said Faulkner.

Salt supplies are a lot tighter in many local communities. ODOT had put out a request from salt companies for an emergency delivery to place around the state to help local communities that need it. Those communities would have only been required to replace what they took when possible. No salt companies placed a bid on the contract.

"We have options when we have salt and that's the problem, we have no salt available to us right now that can satisfy some of the demand we have from a lot of our local communities," said Faulkner.

ODOT is conserving salt supplies and using it sparingly, something they suggest other communities do as well. Some counties and cities have started mixing in sand and grit with salt.

ODOT has already spent more than $104 million on clearing and treating roads this winter.